FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – SUNY Old Westbury baseball (11-4, 9-3 Skyline) hosted its Senior Day with a doubleheader against the Mount Saint Mary College Knights (10-10, 7-9 Skyline) and won the opening Skyline Conference matchup 17-4 but dropped the second game in a 8-2 non-conference decision on Sunday.

Game 1 (5 Inn.): Old Westbury 17, Mount Saint Mary 4

The Knights wasted no time breaking the scoring ice in the opening inning as Brandon Nolasco (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R) smacked a two-run home run that sailed over the left field fence off of Panther starter Eddie Guzman (ND: 1.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) to give them a 2-0 edge. Later in the inning, Coleman Barnes (2-for-4, RBI) hit an RBI double to right center field to extend their lead to three (3-0).

In the top of the second inning, the Knights added another run on a double to right center field by Steven Mirra (2-for-4, RBI, R) that gave the visitors a 4-0 advantage.

The Panthers would rally back in the home half of the second by compiling six runs off of Knight starter Michael DiGiovanni (L, 1-1: 3 IP, 8 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 6 BB, 0 K)including RBI doubles by Oscar Fajardo (2-for-3, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R) and Charlie Eisele (1-for-3, RBI, R) to go with run-scoring singles by Drew Robertson (1-for-3, RBI, R, BB) and Mike Manetta (3-for-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB) to give the home team a two-run cushion (6-4).

Brandon O'Brien (W, 2-1: 4 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) entered in relief of Guzman and shut down the Mount Saint Mary offense as he hurled four scoreless innings.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Panthers continued to pour on runs as Fajardo smacked a three-run home run that cleared the left field fence to extend their lead to 9-4.

The Panthers continued their offensive barrage by putting together four runs in both the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Manetta blasted a two-run home run over the right field fence, Brandon Wilson (3-for-4, RBI, 2 R) slapped an RBI double to right center field and would later score on a wild pitch. In the sixth, Chris Morro and John Dell'Olio hit RBI singles while Manetta hit an RBI triple to help put the finishing touches on a convincing 17-4 Skyline Conference victory.

Game 2: Mount Saint Mary 8, Old Westbury 2

Old Westbury took the lead in the bottom of the first frame on a Shaun Kaminski single to the shortstop off of Knight starter Joe Stewart (W, 1-0: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) that brought home Nic Labiento (2-for-4, R) to give them a 1-0 lead. 

After two shutout innings by Panther starter Joseph Bekios (ND: 2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) and a shutout third inning fired by William Amendola (ND: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K), the Knights put together a six-run fourth inning with five earned runs charged to Panther relief pitcher Frank Whitenack (L, 0-1: 0.0 IP, H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 0 K). The inning was highlighted by an Anthony Franco (1-for-2, 2 RBI, 3B, R, BB) RBI triple and a run-scoring single through the left side off the bat of Steven Mirra (2-for-3, RBI, 2 R, BB) that would help give the visitors a 6-1 edge.

The Panthers tried to rally back as Jamal Ritter (1-for-2, RBI) slapped a double to right center field that scored Robertson to cut the deficit to four (6-2).

Mount Saint Mary would ultimately add two more runs to their total including a home run by Anthony Laietta (2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB) that helped the Knights secure an 8-2 win.
 

UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury (11-4, 9-3 Skyline) earned the No. 2 seed in the 2021 Skyline Conference Baseball Championship and will face off against the third-seeded St. Joseph's (L.I.) Golden Eagles (15-7, 13-5 Skyline) on Friday (May 7) at 2 p.m. All games will be played at top-seeded United States Merchant Marine Academy.

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